Karnataka Intends To Reopen College On July 19, Making Vaccination Mandatory For Students And Faculty

Karnataka is considering reopening the colleges across the state on July 19. The colleges will reopen with 64 percent of students and 85 percent of faculty in government and aided colleges having received at least one dose of vaccine. It also intends to make vaccination a requirement for students taking classes in offline mode.

The government is preparing to reopen colleges as pressure rises, mainly from medical students who are unable to take online lessons and require offline sessions.

Karnataka's chief minister, BS Yediyurappa, is anticipated to make an official announcement in this regard before the last phase of unlocking begins on July 19.

A CMO official said that the decision will be taken into consideration as there will be a rapid vaccination campaign among the student population, as well as rising demand from medical colleges and those who have returned to the state to study from several other areas of the country and overseas. The reopening of colleges is needed as the education has somehow become stagnant in the online classes and the students are already sacrificing a significant amount of their academic year as well as money on housing.

According to sources, some colleges have completed 100% vaccination of the students and their faculty. The administration is also considering releasing an order mandating vaccination for students who attend lessons in person.

As per Deputy Chief Minister, CN Ashwath Narayana stated that no date has been set for the reopening of degree classes. He further stated that after consultation with all stakeholders, the dates for the opening degree programs will be determined later.

Narayana, who is in charge of higher education, claimed that over 65 per cent of students and employees at government and aided degree colleges in the state have been vaccinated till July 7. He continued that in total, 3,13,898 students had been vaccinated out of a total of 4,90,799 students and 85 per cent of employees, 24,875 out of 29,241 have been vaccinated.

While, in Bangalore University, 76.4 per cent of students and employees have been vaccinated. Whereas the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering at Bangalore University has vaccinated 79 per cent of its students and employees, the University Law College has vaccinated 78.3 per cent of its students and staff, and the University College of Physical Education has vaccinated 71.6 per cent. However, according to Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof. KR Venugopal, 66 per cent of dormitory students have also been vaccinated.